STP “Almost Finished” with New Album

Attention Stone Temple Pilots fans: the wait for new music is nearly over.

Singer Scott Weiland recently checked in from the studio, where the alt-rock vets are recording their first album since reuniting in 2008, to give a progress report: “We’re almost finished,” he said.

“There will probably be 11 songs on the record and we have nine completed already,” Weiland told Spinner of the release, produced by Don Was (Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones) and slated to drop in early 2010. “Then you have to have B-sides for Japan, the UK and the rest of Europe, so we’ll probably record 14 songs total.”

As previously reported, STP nixed their fall tour to hit the studio and wrap the album, refining demos that were recorded during soundchecks over the previous year. “We brought a little Protools rig that was at the front of the house,” Weiland told SPIN earlier this year. “So any little nuggets that popped out, we have on tape.”

Elaborating on the band’s songwriting process, the 42-year-old frontman told Spinner the quartet returned to the same formula they used for their hit albums Core and Purple. “For the most part, Robert and Dean [DeLeo] write the instrumental riffs and then amongst the three of us we arrange the songs and then I write all the melodies and the lyrics.”

While he remained mum on new song titles, Weiland — who released a solo album last year — said the San Diego-born band is eager to play the fresh tunes live.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of songs that we’re excited about because we just finished a long tour where we were playing the hits from all five records,” he said. “It’ll make it a lot more fun and gratifying because I know the fans love to hear the hits, but it’s more fun playing stuff you just wrote.”